Madonna, her children and a large entourage were reportedly forced to queue to check in and go through security with ordinary passengers at a Malawi airport terminal after the pop star was apparently stripped of her VIP status in the country.

A set of fossilised bones kept for more than half a century in the dusty storerooms of the Natural History Museum in London have turned out to have belonged to the earliest known dinosaur to roam the land.

Publishers of London 2012 trivia guides will be fuming after Malawi's two Paralympic athletes, the visually impaired sprinters Chisomo Jeremani and Janet Shedani, withdrew hours before the Games began, changing the number of competing nations from 166 to 165.

Tourists are limp, leaderless and distinctly UnAustralian

Andrew Grice: Inside Westminster

Blairites be warned, this could be the moment Labour turns into Syriza

The mystery of Britain's worst naval disaster is finally solved - 271 years later

Exclusive: David Keys reveals the research that finally explains why HMS Victory went down with the loss of 1,100 lives

'I saw people so injured you couldn't tell if they were dead or alive'

Nagasaki survivors on why Japan must not abandon its post-war pacifism

The voter Obama tried hardest to keep onside

Outgoing The Daily Show host, Jon Stewart, became the voice of Democrats who felt the President had failed to deliver on his ‘Yes We Can’ slogan. Tim Walker charts the ups and downs of their 10-year relationship on screen